India Must Look At Social Impact Along With Economics: Himani Pande, Additional Secy, GOI

“Viksit Bharat 2047 is about empowering people, a thriving economy, a prosperous India and a sustainable India. IP addresses all components of Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat. However, technology does not address every problem that we face today. We have to also think of the social impact our work has and not just focus on the economics, said Himani Pande, Additional Secretary– Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

While speaking at the Assocham event, Pande stated that the introduction of biometrics in the PDS system has reduced pilferage through ghost beneficiaries and made ration accessible across the country. It does not however solve all problems making it important to build civic attention to innovations and IP.

“Just two per cent of IP Grants are commercialised and we are in the process of framing the IP financing framework to increase that number not just for the economics but also for the societal benefits,” Pande mentioned.

Unnat P. Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks (CGPDTM), Government of India said, “IP and innovation play a crucial role in driving development and we are working to ensure that we offer IP driven solutions that are developed, deployed and commercially utilised. The country needs to strengthen its IP position. Year on year we are witnessing growth in in IP filings.”

Pandit also stated, "In FY 2023-2024, we have 90,300 patent filings which highlights the confidence of researchers in the Indian economy. There is enough traction on not just the development of a science or technology but equally on protection.”

Pravin Anand, Chairperson, Assocham IPR Council and Managing Partner, Anand and Anand said, “IP balances the old and the new, and values science as well as arts. Traditional knowledge has now been incorporated into the world of IP. Geographical indications and well-known trademarks rely upon long usage and base their strength on what is old. There have been tremendous changes in intellectual property in the past years. The need of the hour is to join hands in strengthening the IP law.”

Setting the context at the summit, Hemang Shah, Co-chairperson, Assocham IPR Council, India Engineering Lead, Qualcomm said, “We are witnessing a major rise of IP contributors in the country, large companies, domestic filers, startups, research and educational institutions. Looking at all the metrics, we have the right building blocks for Viksit Bharat by 2047. But to achieve that we have to make meaningful progress in terms of innovation and execution.”